Don’t Hate On the Mint Acquisition! (You Can’t Buy Great People)
Posted on 19. Sep, 2009 by Fred in General Business, Good to Great Insights, Jim Collins, Miscellaneous
Jason Fried over at 37signals is pissed about the Intuit acquisition of Mint.com. In a rather incisive entry on the Signal Vs. Noise blog, he details why he is upset about the acquisition. Jason is clearly very passionate about innovating in one’s given industry. He’s got his crosshairs set on the old guys and wants to take them down. I love his spirit, but I think a different perspective is in order.
I can see valid points on both sides of the fence here. Yes, we work to make money and the faster we can get on with what we truly want to pursue, the better. That’s generally my feeling when it comes to working 16-18 hours days with the hope of working on other things I can’t afford to spend time on now.
It’s always unfortunate to see a company like Mint cash in their chips, but this seems to be a glass half-empty, half-full situation. Perhaps the Mint crew want to pursue more noble pursuits, philanthropic pursuits, or start their own companies that contribute to some other exciting industry like solar or other green tech ideas?
The primary criticism I have here is not your points- it is, of course, a worthwhile pursuit to try and innovate in a given field, but rather that you seem to assume these guys are done, that they are taking the money and running off to burn hard currency in their fireplaces.
I’d say at least acknowledge you have hope that the Mint team is going on to bigger and better things.
On the other side of the coin, your passion for overthrowing the old regime is inspiring, passionate, pragmatic and admirable, but keep in mind that the large barge companies out there that are currently in the “purchase and conquer” phase could also be suffering from a lack of direction, a leadership team not sure how to adjust to a new paradigm.
You can argue the large guys will buy their way to longevity, gobbling up the innovators, but the historical data rarely ever supports that. If you haven’t read “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, please do. Warm fuzzy feelings will soon replace your outrage. Honestly, I’m encouraged when I see this acquisition pattern take place. I’m not concerned about Intuit, Intuit will either innovate or die, not buy their way to results.
As for the Mint team? Guys, congrats on your acquisition. I’m excited to see what you do next, because the thing that Intuit did not get when they bought the Mint machine was the engine, clearly.
